Crisis Management

Our top professional priority is limiting damage from coronavirus through our work as communicators. In addition, though, the pandemic is giving off a bevy of data about how well our crisis plans are working. It’s imperative we track our successes and failures as we prepare for the next crisis.

In certain parts of Europe, where the novel coronavirus is a few weeks ahead of US hotspots, audiences have begun to reach the information and emotional saturation point. Many are no longer watching the news. PR pros have found it’s important to maintain a positive approach in their internal and external communications.

Despite the overwhelming demand on certain industries, customer service remains a reputation maker, good or bad. Fortunately, we found the basics of good customer service communications prior to the pandemic remain constant. Add to them even more than normal emotion and understanding.

Using a catastrophe as a news hook to pitch journalists makes the PR pro and the company the communicator is pitching look callous and opportunistic.

Information about the coronavirus pandemic mostly has been built around straight messaging: wash your hands, stay home, save lives. The term Chinese virus has entered the public lexicon. Marginalizing ethnicities during a public health crisis can trigger xenophobia. In addition, it does not engender needed public engagement.

Since brands are trusted more than politicians, this dark moment is an opportunity for them to shine, argues creative director Mark Sorensen. He offers several ways brands and their leaders can help direct the public to do the right thing, proving that capitalism cares about more than profits.

Working in quarantine poses unique challenges for communicators. What videoconference tools should you be using? Can you air a video press conference or statement from your CEO remotely? These questions and more were asked of PRNEWS’ recent webinar panel on COVID-19 communications. For answers, we scoured the web and polled the PRNEWS community for their favorite internal and external digital communications tools amid the crisis.

Since it was nearing tax time, we wanted to interview a communicator in the tax industry. Then the pandemic arrived, and April 15 became just another day. Jesse Hamlin, who runs communications for Avalara, tells us that it’s almost always tax time somewhere in the world. She discusses how her team is monitoring its employees’ needs during this difficult moment.

As part of our series of interviews with senior communicators, we asked Aflac SVP, chief ESG and CCO Catherine Hernandez-Blades to tell us what she and her team have learned during the early stages of the virus.

When a crisis such as coronavirus hits, the volume of news can be overwhelming. Here are seven tips and tactics to manage and monitor the information flow during this difficult moment and future crises.